Mark Hamill Says It’s Time to “Move On” From ‘Star Wars’

After debuting as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars more than 40 years ago, actor Mark Hamill might be looking to finally leave the franchise behind for good. While many fans are wondering if the actor will appear in Episode IX in some capacity, Hamill confessed that, without the opportunity to work with Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher, he doesn’t share the same passion he once had.

“I haven’t really thought about [Episode IX] because there’s such a sense of closure, Luke’s story is told. What more can I do?” Hamill shared with Games Radar. “And you know, you have to start disconnecting from it emotionally. The main thing [that shocked me in The Force Awakens] was – Han Solo is killed! I’ll never get to work with Harrison again. Luke will never see Han again. That’s what struck me, that was the first break, we lost a member of the band.”

If the death of Solo wasn’t enough, his character’s passing in The Last Jedi was seemingly the nail in the coffin.

“And then what happened with Luke [in The Last Jedi], I said ‘Okay, that’s the next link’ when I was still thinking I’ll come back as a Force ghost,” Hamill noted. “And then to lose Carrie in real life, I said ‘That’s it’. They say you can never go home again, and that for me was the real indication that it’s time to move on.”

The Last Jedi was meant to be Hamill’s triumphant return to the Star Wars saga, as he was only briefly featured in The Force Awakens, yet a vocal minority of fans who were displeased with the film turned their ire towards Hamill and writer/director Rian Johnson on social media. In addition to this “backlash” he had to endure, Fisher’s surprise passing in December of 2016 has seemingly squashed his emotional desire to play Luke again.

“It really has tarnished my ability to enjoy it to its fullest,” Hamill shared with ABC News of Fisher’s passing. “You were asking earlier, ‘Are you gonna come back?’ I don’t care anymore, on that level. Because Han Solo is gone, Luke is gone. You just can’t get the band back together the way you wanted it to be, and it shouldn’t be that way. It is what it is. Rather than being sorry that we can’t have more of her, I’m just grateful that we had the time with her that we did.”

Whether he’s involved or not, fans can see Episode IX when it lands in theaters on December 20, 2019.

Do you think Hamill should leave the franchise behind? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

[H/T Games Radar]